Jeremiah 5:14-7:20

New International Version - UK

‘Because the people have spoken these words,
    I will make my words in your mouth a fire
    and these people the wood it consumes.
¹⁵ People of Israel,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘I am bringing a distant nation against you –
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.
¹⁶ Their quivers are like an open grave;
    all of them are mighty warriors.
¹⁷ They will devour your harvests and food,
    devour your sons and daughters;
they will devour your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
    the fortified cities in which you trust.

²⁰ ‘Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
    and proclaim it in Judah:
²¹ Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
    who have eyes but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:
²² Should you not fear me?’ declares the Lord.
    ‘Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar, but they cannot cross it.
²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
    they have turned aside and gone away.
²⁴ They do not say to themselves,
    “Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”
²⁵ Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
    your sins have deprived you of good.

²⁶ ‘Among my people are the wicked
    who lie in wait like men who snare birds
    and like those who set traps to catch people.
²⁷ Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;
they have become rich and powerful
²⁸     and have grown fat and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.
²⁹ Should I not punish them for this?’
    declares the Lord.
‘Should I not avenge myself
    on such a nation as this?

³⁰ ‘A horrible and shocking thing
    has happened in the land:
³¹ the prophets prophesy lies,
    the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?

⁴ ‘Prepare for battle against her!
    Arise, let us attack at noon!
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
    and the shadows of evening grow long.
⁵ So arise, let us attack at night
    and destroy her fortresses!’

‘Cut down the trees
    and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
    it is filled with oppression.
⁷ As a well pours out its water,
    so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her;
    her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
⁸ Take warning, Jerusalem,
    or I will turn away from you
and make your land desolate
    so that no one can live in it.’

‘Let them glean the remnant of Israel
    as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
    like one gathering grapes.’

¹⁰ To whom can I speak and give warning?
    Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed^[a]
    so that they cannot hear.
The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
    they find no pleasure in it.
¹¹ But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,
    and I cannot hold it in.

‘Pour it out on the children in the street
    and on the young men gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
    and the old, those weighed down with years.
¹² Their houses will be turned over to others,
    together with their fields and their wives,
when I stretch out my hand
    against those who live in the land,’
declares the Lord.
¹³ ‘From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
    all practise deceit.
¹⁴ They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.
¹⁵ Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when I punish them,’
says the Lord.

‘Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.
    But you said, “We will not walk in it.”
¹⁷ I appointed watchmen over you and said,
    “Listen to the sound of the trumpet!”
    But you said, “We will not listen.”
¹⁸ Therefore hear, you nations;
    you who are witnesses,
    observe what will happen to them.
¹⁹ Hear, you earth:
    I am bringing disaster on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
    and have rejected my law.
²⁰ What do I care about incense from Sheba
    or sweet calamus from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
    your sacrifices do not please me.’

‘I will put obstacles before this people.
    Parents and children alike will stumble over them;
    neighbours and friends will perish.’

‘Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.
²³ They are armed with bow and spear;
    they are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Zion.’

²⁴ We have heard reports about them,
    and our hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped us,
    pain like that of a woman in labour.
²⁵ Do not go out to the fields
    or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
    and there is terror on every side.
²⁶ Put on sackcloth, my people,
    and roll in ashes;
mourn with bitter wailing
    as for an only son,
for suddenly the destroyer
    will come upon us.

²⁷ ‘I have made you a tester of metals
    and my people the ore,
that you may observe
    and test their ways.
²⁸ They are all hardened rebels,
    going about to slander.
They are bronze and iron;
    they all act corruptly.
²⁹ The bellows blow fiercely
    to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
    the wicked are not purged out.
³⁰ They are called rejected silver,
    because the Lord has rejected them.’